Finger-ring exhibitor



No. 608,946. Patented Aug. 9, |898. III. ADAMS.

FINGER RING EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Mar. 10, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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NTTED STATES PATENT Tirion..

MAROELLUS ADAMS, OF IVEST PLAINS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOSEPH O. DISS, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

FINGER-RING EXHIBITOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent N o. 608,946, dated August 9, 1898,. Application fue@ March 10,1898. serai No. 67s,s78.` (no model.)

To all whom it mayconcern.:

Beit known that I, MARcELLUs ADAMS, of West Plains, inthe county of Howell and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Finger-Ring Exhibitors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is a device to take the place of the ordinary ring-trays used by jewelers for the display of inger-rings, and it is in the nature of a ring-exhibitor which is to be made in sections and screwed down into the bottom of the trays and which serves to securely hold each ring in a position in which it is fully exposed for examination and yet is clamped and securely held.

It consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts, which I will now proceed to fully describe with reference to the drawings, in which Figure l is a side view, Fig. 2 an end View, and Fig. 3 a plan view, of one section of my ring-exhibitor.

In the drawings, A represents a part of the bottom of the tray, which is to be covered with colored plush or velvet. B is the baseplate of the exhibitor, which is a long strip of metal screwed down to the bottom of the tray. This base-plate is provided with a series of upright stems b, which at their upper ends are bent at or about a right angle and terminate in a hook-like arm b on each stem. In the lower part of each one of these upright stems b there is formed by bending the wire a coil or convolution o,and through each of these coils, as in a bearing, there extends a horizontal rock-shaft O. Y This rock-shaft has an offsetting arm C at one end with aiingerkey or push-button on its end, by which when depressed the rock-shaft may be tilted. This Arock-shaft is provided at d with a spiral spring, whose tension strains the shaft in a direction to throw the finger-key up. Upon the rock-shaft, beside each vertical stem b, there is wrapped and soldered a horizontal hookshaped arm e, which lies immediately below the corresponding arm b above. These two hook-shaped arms h and e form together a holder for a ring r, and there are as many of them in a section as may be desired. The

upper arm b is hooked in the top plate of a ring, and the lower arm e is hooked in the bottom part of the ring, andwhen the spring of the rock-shaft strains the lower arms e in a downward direction it securely holds all the rings in tension in an upright position, 55

curved saddle-pieces f, covered or plain, on 6o the upper arms b', which saddle-pieces lie within the inner periphery of the ring and hold them in an even and true plane against any tendency to twist about; but this may be dispensed with, if desired.

The ring-exhibitor as thus described is made in sections which are placed in rows in the tray and screwed down, and each section or group of holders is made with different distances between the two arms to adapt them to rings of different sizes, so that all rings of a size may be kept upon one section and be thus readily found land picked out when needed. When a customer calls to see rings, the standard ring-measure is iirst used to get the exact size, and then the salesman, after having located the section containing rings of that size, which is indicated thereon, presses upon the finger-key and rocking the shaft, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, releases all the rings on that section.

With this exhibitor it will be seen that the needless handling of the rings by customers is dispensed with, and the soiling and tarnishing of rings by sweaty or dirty fingers are avoided. The rings are alsoorderly and safely kept, much time is saved and trouble avoided in classifying and replacing the rings, and there is also less liability to the loss of rings from theft.

Another advantage is that the rings are all positively held, and if the tray is upset or jolted the rings cannot be dislodged or spilled.

The holder is to be made of tasteful design and neatly plated, and forms, with the rings, a Very handsome display in the tray. On each one of the iinger-keys or buttons will be stamped the number and size of the rings in that section.

In constructing the ring-exhibitors lit is not necessary to make them of different patterns to accommodate diierent sizes of rings. It

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is only necessary to bend the arm e or b', or both of them, so as to vary the distance between them. The device, furthermore, need not be mounted in a tray, but may be placed on strips of Wood or metal and arranged in show-cases or Windows in squares, triangles, diamond shape, or any fanciful or ornamental forms.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A finger-ring exhibitor, comprising two sets of hook-shaped arms for fitting inside and holding the rings, aspring-aotuated rockshaft carrying one set of arms, and a suitable base or support substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A finger-ring exhibitor consisting of an upper set of hooked arms, a horizontal rockshaft with a corresponding set of hooked arms, a suitable base or support, a key or handle for rocking the shaft, and a spring substantially as shown and described.

3. A finger-ring exhibitor, consisting of a base-plate Withnpright stems having` bearings in their lower portions formed by coils of Wire and horizontal hooked arms at their upper ends, a horizontal shaft arranged in the coils of the stems, and having horizontal hook-shaped arms, a rocking key and a springsubstantially as and for the purpose described. y

MARCELLUS ADAMS. Witnesses:

DAN W. BUCK, JASPER UITTs. 

